Mr. President,
FIDH and its Kazakhstani member organisation, the ILI Foundation, acknowledge Kazakhstan’s participation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its acceptance of various recommendations. However, significant concerns remain regarding Kazakhstan’s stance on critical human rights issues.
While Kazakhstan supported the recommendations of ensuring a favorable environment for civil society, repression, intimidation, and persecution of civil society and free media, as well as smear campaigns against human rights defenders, continue. Notably, Kazakhstan has refused to revise the definition of extremism and terrorism in its national legislation, which has been used as grounds for politically motivated persecution.
Kazakhstan’s refusal to abolish the “foreign funding register” and refrain from considering “foreign agent”-style legislation, such as the recent draft of the Law on Non-Governmental Organizations, is deeply concerning. In contrast to Kazakhstan’s commitment to ensure the protection of human rights defenders, such laws stigmatize and constrain defenders and NGOs, which often rely on foreign funding to carry out their work.
Further, despite accepting recommendations on judicial reform, Kazakhstan has failed to address accountability for the grave human rights violations, including the right to life, committed during the January 2022 events. Impunity persists, as evidenced by limited investigations and the lack of transparency around judicial processes that disproportionately target protestors rather than officials involved in abuses.
FIDH and the ILI Foundation ask UN member states to urge Kazakhstan to effectively implement the supported recommendations and reconsider its stance on critical recommendations previously noted to end impunity, address human rights violations and protect civil society.
I thank you.